WhatsApp users can enjoy encrypted text communication thanks to a partnership between the company and Open Whisper Systems.
According to a blog post from the security firm, the encryption feature is available with the latest build of the Android app and currently only supports one-on-one text messages. Support for group chats and messages will be added in the future, according to Open Whisper Systems.
“The WhatsApp application runs on an incredible number of mobile platforms, and thus the full rollout will be a gradual process, as we add TextSecure protocol support to each WhatsApp client platform. All mobile platforms will be supported, and all WhatsApp users will have end-to-end encryption by default,” said the company.
The introduction of the new feature is the result of the recent increase in popularity for encryption services and anonymity, which was primarily sparked by the spotlight of publicity in the revelations of Edward Snowden about the NSA.
